Jovan Belcher, football, murder-suicide
On December 1, 2012, Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, after an apparent argument in front of his mother at 8 a.m., according to Kansas City police. Belcher then drove his car to the team’s training facility near the stadium, where he encountered head coach Romeo Crennel and general manager Scott Pioli, then shot himself in the head just as police arrived.

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Junior Seau, football, suicide
On May 2, 2012, Seau's girlfriend found him dead with a gunshot wound to the chest at his home in California. He left no suicide note, but he did leave a paper in the kitchen of his home with lyrics he scribbled from his favorite country song, "Who I Ain't". The song, co-written by his friend Jamie Paulin—a Nashville-based songwriter—describes a man who regrets the person he has become. After his death, there was speculation that Seau suffered brain damage due to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition traced to concussion-related brain damage with depression as a symptom.
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Wade Belak, hockey suicide
On August 31, 2011, Belak was found dead in a condo at the One King Street West hotel in Toronto.[6][7] Police have not confirmed a cause of death, but Toronto Police treated it as a suicide. His death was the third in a string of NHL players found dead in a four-month span, following Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien, who both battled depression. Belak's mother stated that he had been suffering from depression.
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Darrent Williams, football, drive-by shooting
On January 1, 2007, Williams was shot during a drive-by shooting at 2 a.m. Williams and two other passengers were shot when another vehicle pulled beside his limousine in Denver, Colorado. Williams sustained a single gunshot wound to the neck, killing him almost instantly. According to police, he had been attending a New Year's Eve/birthday party at a nightclub where an altercation involving some of his group had taken place earlier.
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Donnie Moore, baseball, murder-suicide
On July 18, 1989, after recently being cut by the Kansas City Royals, Moore had an argument with his wife Tonya and shot her three times. The incident occurred in view of their three children at their home. Tonya and daughter Demetria, then 17 years of age, fled from the house where Demetria drove her mother to the hospital. Both survived the shooting. Back inside the house, still in the presence of one of his sons, Moore then committed suicide.
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Fred Lane, football, murder-suicide
On July 5, 2000, Lane made a phone call to his father telling him that he wanted to sell his motorcycle because he needed the cash. On July 6, 2000, he was shot and killed by his wife Deidra during an alleged domestic dispute. Law enforcement investigators believe Deidra Lane shot her husband moments after he arrived at their home for the $5 million in life insurance he carried. Although she claimed he had been abusing her, the judge felt it was premeditated and sentenced her to 8 years in prison
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Greg Halman, baseball, murder
Halman, 24, was stabbed to death on November 21, 2011, in Rotterdam by his brother. His brother was convicted of manslaughter by a Dutch court. He received treatment for his psychosis instead of serving a sentence in jail. Greg has been buried in a small grove near the sea because the plot reminded his family of a baseball diamond.
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Jayson Williams, basketball, manslaughter
On February 14, 2002, limousine driver Costas Christofi was shot to death at Williams's estate in New Jersey. The New York Post reported that Williams was playing with a shotgun while giving a tour of his mansion when the weapon fired, killing Christofi. In April 2004, Williams was acquitted of the more serious charges against him, but was convicted on four counts of trying to cover up the shooting. Later, he was retried and he pled guilty to aggravated assault. Williams was sentenced to 5 years in prison.
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O.J. Simpson, football, murder-suicide
In 1995, Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman after a lengthy, internationally publicized criminal trial – the People v. Simpson. In 1997, a civil court awarded a judgment against Simpson for their wrongful deaths; to date he has paid little of the $33.5 million penalty.
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Rae Carruth, football, murder
On Nov. 16, 1999, Cherica Adams, a woman he had been casually dating and who was eight-months pregnant, was shot four times by a night club manager and friend of Carruth's. Surviving the shooting for the moment, Adams called 911 and described how Carruth behaved: he had stopped his vehicle in front of hers as another vehicle drove alongside Adams and its passenger shot her, and Carruth then drove from the scene. After Cherica died, Carruth fled and became a fugitive. He was captured after being found hiding in the trunk of a car outside a motel. He was found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to 18 to 24 years in prison.
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Ray Lewis, football, murder
Following a Super Bowl party in Atlanta on January 31, 2000, a fight broke out between Lewis and his companions and another group of people, resulting in the stabbing deaths of two people. Lewis and two companions were questioned by Atlanta police, and eleven days later the three men were indicted on murder and aggravated assault charges. Lewis' attorneys negotiated a plea agreement with the Fulton County District Attorney where the murder charges against Lewis were dismissed in exchange for his testimony against his companions and his guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice.
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Sean Taylor, football, murder
Taylor died at the age of 24 on November 27, 2007, from critical injuries from a gunshot by intruders at his Miami area home. His death led to an outpouring of national support and sympathy, especially in the Washington area, where Taylor had been a fan favorite as a Redskin. In honor of Taylor, on the first play of the first game after he was murdered, the Redskins defense lined up with only 10 players which left the area Taylor lined up at free safety open against the Buffalo Bills.
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Steve McNair, football, murder-suicide
On July 4, 2009, McNair was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds, along with the body of a young woman in a condominium rented by McNair in downtown Nashville. McNair had been shot twice in the body and twice in the head. The young woman had a single gunshot wound to the head, which was proved to have been fired from a gun that was held to her temple. According to police, it was a murder-suicide and McNair was the vicitm as the mistress had a worsening financial situation and also suspected that McNair was in another extramarital relationship.
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